|
The Decatur Daily, Ala., Eric Fleischauer column: Decatur, Sweetwater a package
(The Decatur Daily (AL) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Mar. 23--Coordinating a city's growth is doable if the economy forces to the mix, and it's like trying to control a bucking bronco.
Bass Pro Shops and the associated Sweetwater development, planned for the Decatur-annexed portion of Limestone County, could turn out to be the biggest economic news for Decatur in decades.
In the short term, it may compete for resources from a rapidly progressing effort at downtown redevelopment.
Long term, the efforts will be complementary.
The community-driven effort to transform the downtown was not irrelevant to Sweetwater and Bass Pro choosing
Decatur, even though they
are several miles from downtown.
"Decatur is a really special community," said Steve Williamson of Transwestern, a massive commercial real estate corporation that is a developer -- and will be a manager -- of Sweetwater.
"I've been impressed in the time I've spent in Decatur with what the city has done with
its downtown, creating a
sense of place with its downtown."
Derail
Williamson does not want Sweetwater to derail the effort, and he is emphatic that the two development efforts should not war with each other.
"We don't think Sweetwater will detract from what Decatur already has," Williamson said. "It will complement Decatur and its downtown. Combined, these will create something special."
Sevierville, Tenn., has embarked on substantial downtown redevelopment in connection with landing a Bass Pro Shop.
It is expanding a public trolley system, building an event center and improving downtown roads.
That the Tennessee River will separate the glitz of Sweetwater from the antique charm of a redeveloped downtown Decatur increases the tourism potential.
In one city, we will have distinct attractions.
They will be bound together thematically, with downtown Ingalls Harbor and its fishing tournaments, an obvious
destination for Bass Pro shoppers.
Moreover, Decatur residents can enjoy the small-town comfort they have always enjoyed while benefiting from sales-
tax revenue from across the river.
Thanks, Russia
1United Launch Alliance can thank Russia for an
unintended marketing campaign.
ULA's strength is its dependability. Its weakness is the cost of its products, the Delta IV, Delta II and Atlas V satellite-launch rockets.
Less-expensive rockets manufactured in Russia and other countries are a lingering competitive threat for commercial satellite launches.
SES Americom, a major telecommunications provider for North and South America, discovered this month that a rocket's cost can mean more than its price tag. A Russian Proton-M rocket had an unsuccessful launch from Kazakhstan.
A bad booster rocket left the Lockheed Martin-built satellite short of its intended orbit and probably useless.
Lose a multimillion-dollar satellite, and ULA products don't look so expensive.
Contact Eric Fleischauer at eric@decaturdaily.com.
To see more of The Decatur Daily, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.decaturdaily.com
Copyright (c) 2008, The Decatur Daily, Ala.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
|
INDUSTRIES
Activate Email 
